2015 Urban Design Awards Jury

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Eduardo Aquino

Eduardo Aquino graduated in Architecture and Urban Studies in Brazil and holds an MFA in Open Media from Concordia University, Montreal. He has a long-standing research and creative practice concerning public space, and has realized projects for galleries and urban spaces in North America, South America and Europe.

Aquino has been a program and policy consultant on public art and interdisciplinary arts for the Canada Council for the Arts and the Winnipeg Arts Council. He holds a Doctorate from the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, in History of Architecture and Fundamentals, with a focus on Public Space, for which he realized a project on beachscapes. He is the co-author of Complex Order: Intrusions in Public Space (Winnipeg: Plug In Editions, 2009).

An Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba, he teaches design studio, theory, history and technology.

Aquino is a recipient of a National Award from the National Arts Foundation in Brazil, and a Design Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He is part of the international design team spmb, and has been living in Canada since 1988.

Anne Cormier

Anne Cormier has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from McGill University and a Certificat d’études approfondies en architecture urbaine from the Paris-Villemin school of architecture.

She is co-founder of Atelier Big City, a group of Montreal architects recognized for high quality architectural and urban projects. Founded in 1987, Atelier Big City received the Prix de Rome in Architecture from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Governor General’s medal and the grand prize in architecture from the Ordre des architectes du Québec. The group has presented and shown its work in Quebec, Canada and abroad and has been invited to present at Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Toronto and University of Calgary.

Anne Cormier is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture at Université de Montréal, where she has served as director from 2007 to 2015. She is affiliated with the Laboratoire d’étude de l’architecture potentielle (LEAP), an inter-university group dedicated to research on the design process in architecture.

Anne is a member of the RAIC Board of Directors and the National Capital Commission’s Advisory Committee on Planning, Design and Realty in Ottawa. Anne regularly sits on other committees dedicated to excellence in architectural and urban projects and on architectural juries.

Christopher Phillips

A fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, Chris Phillips is widely respected for his ability to create memorable designs for a wide range of complex urban design and public open space projects. Over the last 20 years, he has been in charge of many award-winning urban development, community, waterfront, civic spaces and park projects.

Chris is interested in the integration of regional context, metaphor, meaning and their collective contribution to the design of urban open space and the public realm. Central to his design philosophy is the importance of public open space as a locus of public life and an expression of democracy. His unique design process focuses on the creation of highly functional, aesthetic landscapes that are compelling, evocative and inclusive. Chris has encouraged the inclusion of public art in his work and is a past chair of the City of Vancouver Public Art Advisory Committee.

Chris has brought his extensive professional experience and innovative design thinking to roles on the Vancouver City Planning Commission, the British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects , the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and numerous art and design juries.

Gordon Price

In 2002, Gordon Price finished his sixth term as a City Councillor in Vancouver, BC. He also served on the Board of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and was appointed to the first board of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority in 1999.

He has spoken at numerous conventions and conferences in many countries, and conducts tours and seminars on the urban development of Vancouver. His blog, Price Tags, focuses on urban issues within Vancouver.

Gordon is a regular lecturer on transportation and land use for the City of Portland and Portland State University. He also sits on the board of the Sightline Institute, based in Seattle, and is an honourary member of the Planning Institute of B.C.

Over the course of his career, Gordon has been the recipient of several awards, including the Plan Canada Award for Article of the Year from the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Smarty - an award of recognition by Smart Growth B.C., the Simon Fraser University 2012 President’s Award for service to the university through public affairs and media relations and the President’s Award at the annual meeting of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Betsy Williamson

Betsy Williamson is a partner with Shane Williamson and Donald Chong in the office of Williamson Chong Architects, a group of experienced architects and academics committed to using both built and unbuilt work as vehicles to explore diverse agendas associated with research and practice. Their design approach privileges specificities of context, materials research, economies of construction, building performance and client-based collaboration.

Betsy Williamson received a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Architecture from Barnard College in 1992 and her Masters of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1997. Her early work was awarded the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement from the Canada Council for the Arts in 2008 and was named one of the top 40 under 40 design practices in Canada by the National Post.

Most recently, Williamson Chong was selected for the 2014 Emerging Architectural Practice Award by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the 2014 Emerging Voices Award by the Architectural League of New York. Betsy was also named a finalist for the Architects’ Journal 2015 Emerging Woman Architect of the Year Award.